“I realize that art can bridge the gulf between the white and black races” –Paul Robeson
Sing and Shout: The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson is a fascinating biography. The book gives voice to Robeson, an influential man from the twentieth century that most young readers are not familiar with. Written by celebrated nonfiction writer Susan Goldman Rubin, Sing and Shout is fast-paced and easy-to-understand. Readers will get a clear sense of who Paul Robeson was and his important contributions to music, education, and civil rights. The book contains a comprehensive list of resources, including Paul’s song index, as well as lots of black and white photographs. The author provides appropriate context for world events. Sing and Shout is a great option for school reports or anyone who wants to learn more about civil rights activism.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Calkins Creek
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 2 mild obscenities; 1 anatomical term.
Violence/Gore: Several verbal threats by mobs; multiple second-hand reports of violence including war, bombed cities, lynching, Nazis committing murders, and violent mobs; a character acts out murder during a Shakespearean play; a few brief scenes of violence include a mob physically assaulting people and a character being stomped on with cleats; violent protests including throwing bricks and burning an effigy; a brief scene includes destruction of property; a few non-detailed scenes of violent death include lynching and an accidental burning.
Sex/Nudity: A few incidents of kissing on the hand or lips, a character poses for a nude sculpture with no details included; an implied and/or reported incident of sexual activity including the plot of Othello, slaves and their masters, and an affair between co-stars.
Mature Subject Matter:
Racism, discrimination, prohibiting interracial marriage, Jim Crow, civil rights, the KKK, separate but equal, lynching, slavery, chain gangs, black face, racial violence, slights and slurs, Underground railroad, extramarital affair, concentration camps and liberation, Kristallnacht, Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, Anti-Semitism, cancer, death of loved ones, depression, mention of suicide attempts, outbreak of war, violent protests, mass executions, fascism, Stalin purge trials and executions, stalked by the FBI and phones bugged, blacklists, the Spanish Civil War, mention of apartheid, stroke, mention of communists, homosexuals and gypsies.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
